If the John Adams High School Spartans baseball team is to go far in the playoffs this year, it may rest on the arm of pitcher Anderson Deleon. Deleon, who is being pursued by three colleges, has a fiery fastball and a tricky breaking ball.

His record this season is 5-1, and he leads the PSAL (as of May 7) with 79 strikeouts in 12 games, while sporting a 0.06 ERA.

In a recent match against Queens A West conference leader Newtown High School (11-1 PSAL), Deleon pitched a complete game shutout with 15 strikeouts. Besides his pitching, Deleon is also a capable batter. He has a .366 batting average in 41 at bats, and he has a .409 on-base percentage.

Although the John Adams Spartans (11-2 PSAL) are still competing with Newtown for the conference crown, Deleon believes that his team will ultimately succeed.

“As far as I’m concerned, we got the best team to go all the way,” Deleon said. “And I have 100 percent confidence in myself and my team to win everything.”

UPDATE: On May 7, after this article was published in The Queens Courier, John Adams High School once again defeated Newtown, sweeping the season series and tying for first place in the conference.